In a league as diverse and vast as USL, it’s easy to be overlooked -- especially when competing against Major League Soccer teams for the Dewar Cup in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament.

 

The Rochester Raging Rhinos of the A-League are the epitome of success achieved by underdogs in the tournament, reaching the championship match twice and capturing the title in 1999.

 

Rochester made their first historic run during its inaugural A-League season in 1996, beating two MLS teams to reach the championship game.

 

After an easy 2-0 win over the provisional Premier League side Fort Myers Manatees in Round 2, the Raging Rhinos eliminated the Tampa Bay Mutiny with a wild 4-3 victory in the Quarterfinals. Rochester advanced to face the Colorado Rapids in the Semi-Finals, where they secured their birth into the championship game with a 3-0 thrashing of the Division I club. D.C. United turned the tables on Rochester in the Final, however, winning the Dewar Cup with a convincing 3-0 victory.

 

The Raging Rhinos returned to glory in the tournament three years later by defeating a stunning string of four MLS teams to win the Dewar Cup themselves in 1999. Rochester needed overtime, however, against the PDL’s New York Freedoms just to get past Round 2 with a 2-1 victory. After the close call, the Rhinos proceeded to defeat the Chicago Fire, 1-0, in the next round. In the Quarterfinals, Rochester needed overtime again to defeat the Dallas Burn, 2-1, to advance to the Semi-Finals, where they handed the Columbus Crew a 3-2 defeat. Colorado had a chance to redeem its 1996 loss to the Rhinos in the championship match, but fell, 2-0, before 4,455 fans at Columbus Crew Stadium.

 

The Richmond Kickers established themselves as the team to watch in 1995, when they won the PDL title. Then they beat even longer odds when they defeated the El Paso Patriots, 2-1, in a shootout to become the first USL team ever to win the U.S. Open Cup before a crowd of 7,378 fans at El Paso’s Socorro Stadium. In winning the “double,” the Kickers dispelled the notion that USL’s best teams play only in the pro tier. Three of the four semi-finalists were USL teams with the other two being El Paso and the Chicago Stingers, both of the Pro League. Just two years after winning the Open Cup, Richmond joined the A-League in 1997.

 

Another dream run was not long off as the D3 Pro League’s San Francisco Bay Seals showed everyone that they too could do it as well. One season removed from playing in the PDL, the Seals proceeded to amaze the American soccer public with a surprising, 2-0, win over the two-time defending A-League champion Seattle Sounders. They continued to slay the Goliaths before them, defeating the Kansas City Wizards, 2-1, and San Jose Clash, 2-1, of Major League Soccer. The run came to an end, however, at the hands of defending MLS and U.S. Open Cup champion D.C. United, 2-1 in the Semi-Finals. The Seals were the only team to score against United in the 1997 tournament.